A celebrity defense lawyer who garners quantity face-time during publicity-soaked trials, Spence, as attentive O. J.-ers know, is the aw-shucks Wyomingite who hates neckties, prosecutors, bankers, and pretense in general. He also hates losing an argument, which he has rarely done in a courtroom. Here, Spence distills his bar experience into the secrets of his success and translates that into the plain language of the real world of jobs, romance, and child rearing. Spence exhorts readers to believe that the art of arguing is verily the art of living, and aversion to argumentativeness only hinders people from getting what they want. So throughout this disputation, Spence anticipates objections (which he dubs the "Lock" ) and supplies refutations (dubbed the "Key" ). Spence's overall keys to winning are to contend without being contentious, to persuade instead of overwhelming "the Other," and to always be credible. Though discursive in style, Spence's prose is pointedly sharp in essence and displays un-self-consciously his own flamboyant personality. Rises above the herd in the conduct-of-life genre.

Listeners expecting a step-by-step guide to winning arguments will be put off at first by the dramatic reading and shameless self-disclosure of attorney Gerry Spence. The tone of this program is more philosophical than logical. Some of the organization has a "stream-of-consciousness" quality, which confuses momentarily but eventually comes to life as part of a larger fabric of values and attitudes the author feels are essential. With sincerity, wisdom and a clear, deep voice, Spence makes us overlook the eccentricity of his language and the flamboyance of his delivery. As a course in integrity, love and talking from the heart, this program delivers in style and substance.

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews (1)